Former National Security Advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani, who was sacked for identifying the lone surviving Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab as a Pakistani has said the decision was made after consultations with all top officials, including the ISI chief.

"I am not a fool. Before giving the statement, I consulted all relevant quarters," Durrani said.

Durrani was fired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani shortly after he identified Kasab as a Pakistani, said he made the decision on his own but after consulting all important officials, including ISI top boss, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.

"I did not issue the statement on his (Pasha's) directive. However, I did consult him and there was an understanding between the two of us that the identity of Kasab should be revealed as most people were already aware of it," Durrani, who was sacked in January 2009, told Dawn News.

In reply to a question whether he felt he was made a scapegoat, Durrani said Gilani was a "peer saint" â€“ a reference to the premier's links to a spiritual family â€“ who issued a "royal order without even listening to me".

Gilani issued the order for his removal on hearsay and did not even speak to him, Durrani said.

He contended Gilani had no powers to remove him as only the President could do so.

A furious Gilani had announced the sacking of Durrani while speaking to a TV news channel on January 7, 2009, hours after Durrani acknowledged that Kasab was a Pakistani.

Asked if he spoke to President Asif Ali Zardari after his ouster as he was appointed by Zardari, Durrani said the President gave him a phone call.

He refused to divulge the details of his conversation with Zardari.

Talking about a secret US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks that said Durrani handed over the notes of an in-camera session of parliament in 2008 to US officials, he said it was incorrect that he had handed over any documents to then American envoy Anne Paterson.

Referring to another US cable released recently by WikiLeaks that contained references to a 2008 terrorist attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Durrani denied that he had accused the ISI of having a hand in the incident.

a pakistani link
.Statement on Kasab was made after consultation: Gen Durrani | Newspaper | DAWN.COM
.
Statement on Kasab was made
after consultation: Gen
Durrani
By Azaz Syed | From the
Newspaper
(19 hours ago) Today
Asked why he had issued such a
sensitive statement, Mahmud
Durrani said,â€œI am not a fool.
Before giving the statement I
consulted all relevant quartersâ€.
- File Photo
ISLAMABAD: Major General
(retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, a
former national security
adviser to the prime minister,
has disclosed that the much-
talked about decision to
reveal the identity of Ajmal
Kasab, the lone survivor of
Mumbai terror attacks, to the
media was his own, but that it
was taken after consultations
with all important officials,
including ISI chief Lt-Gen
Ahmed Shuja Pas ha.
Gen (retd) Durrani was
unceremoniously removed from
his post in Jan 2009 by Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for
publicly disclosing Ajmal Kasabâ€™s
nationality.
â€œI did not issue the statement on
his (Pashaâ€™s) directive. However, I
did consult himâ€ and there was
an understanding between the
two of us that the identity of
Kasab should be revealed as
most people were already aware
of it,â€ Mr Durrani said in an
exclusive interview with
DawnNews television.
Asked why he had issued such a
sensitive statement, Mahmud
Durrani said,â€œI am not a fool.
Before giving the statement I
consulted all relevant quartersâ€.
In reply to a question whether
he felt that he was made a
scapegoat, Gen (retd) Durrani
said the prime minister was a
â€œpeer sainâ€ who issued a â€œroyal
order without even listening to
meâ€. Mr Gilani issued the orders
on hearsay and did not even
speak to him, he added. He said
Mr Gilani had no powers to
remove him as only the
president could do so.
Asked if he spoke to the
president after his ouster as he
was appointed by Mr Zardari,
Durrani said President Zardari
made him a phone call.
However, he refused to divulge
the details of his discussion with
President Zardari. Talking about
the WikiLeaks controversy in
which Durrani was accused of
handing over the notes of an in
camera session of parliament in
2008, he said it was incorrect
that he had handed over any
documents to Anne Paterson,
the then US Ambassador to
Pakistan.
Durrani, while referring to a
WikiLeaks cable released
recently, denied that he had
accused the ISI of having a hand
in an attack on the Indian High
Commission in Kabul in 2008.
According to the cable, Mahmud
Durrani, in his meeting with
Indian National Security Adviser
M. K. Narayanan in 2008, had
alleged the Inter Services
Intelligence had a role in the
bomb attack on the Indian High
Commission.

Lol, they had to hold consultation with top leaders of ISI/PA to decide if Kasab was Pakistani. So what other option did they have apart from calling him Indian? It was independently verified by their own media as being a Pakistani.